Clive Bibby: We need to get real!

What should we take from the election night results that remain too close to call?

Those of us on the Right should use the next couple of weeks to reflect on "what might have been" so that - whatever the final result - we are in better shape to avoid the mistakes we made, when we get the next chance in three years’ time.

But in doing so, we need to get real and accept some salutary home truths about campaign strategy. Inexplicably, for the National Party leadership, they appear to have been proved wrong.

We need to acknowledge that common sense strategies are always going to be the most reliable when appealing to enough voters who can make the difference between winning and losing.

For me as a strategic Right Wing voter, it became obvious that the National Party's major donor (Nick Mowbray and his family) should have been listened to – surely they had earned that right! Yet, not only were they ignored by the party leadership, but they were vilified for having the temerity to question the National Party leadership's support for the "Two Ticks National" campaign.

And as a result, there are arguments to be made that suggest we almost lost because of that directive.

As Rodney Hide points out, the 700,000 Blue Party votes were effectively wasted in an election that, had they been re-distributed to either Act or NZ First (as mine was), virtually every Right Wing party vote would have not only ensured a Right Wing victory but, perhaps more importantly - a whopping majority where we are able to treat the crazy Left as irrelevant.

But here's the thing.

Even after being dealt a salutary lesson, Luxon still appears unwilling to acknowledge that - in the best interests of the National Party's future, based on the election night results, there are a couple of important things to be discussed that he doesn't want to talk about. Perhaps understandably, given they are all about the future Party leadership!

You see – in spite of Luxon's election night references to the friends he has lost, it was noticeable that Chis Bishop's name was initially not among them.

Given the fact that Bishop could well have been standing on the victory dais on election night had he succeeded in rolling the PM a few months earlier, it is obvious that Luxon sees him as the true heir apparent and the only real threat to his own incumbency.

And why should we not be surprised at Luxon's belated inclusion of his arch rival as one of his dear friends now that Bishop is - at least for the moment - out of the picture as a challenger.

Hang on a minute.

Here is what I think should happen and hopefully will.

The one thing that National should have done in order to avoid this leadership crisis happening again was to make sure their senior most capable ministers were representing safe electorate seats instead of the "no names" who have racked up some of the biggest majorities in the country.

The fact that Chis Bishop's value to the Nation with his ability to walk across party lines while making things happen has been temporarily put on hold is another price we have to pay for stupid selfish Party campaign strategies

He is the most gifted consequential politician we have seen in decades.

Because my guess is that - had he become Prime Minister before the election, the result would have been a foregone conclusion.

Time to reflect!

Let's hope that common sense will prevail and future strategies will be based on reality rather than wishful thinking.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who now lives in Taranaki.